This invention relates to photograph frames, specifically for framing multiple photos simultaneously and for sitting on table-tops as opposed to being wall-mounted.
Although several photograph frames exist that exhibit multiple photos simultaneously, most are unchangeable, or very limited, in their formation possibilities. This limitation restricts the user to a fixed number of photos, or a limited structure for photos. Even if growth is possible within a frame structure, there have been dimensional limitations.
The chain-link method used in U.S. Pat. No. 4,244,127, granted to George Buzzard, only allows the chain of frames to grow in one direction. U.S. Pat. No. 4,271,618, granted to George F. Lyman, has a hinge connecting only two photos, and the angle can be adjusted up to 360 degrees.
The three-dimensional features of U.S. Pat. No. 4,034,496, to Bernard Cohen, does not allow the actual structure to change, but only to place photos closer or further from the viewer within the unchanged structure.
The clip-connections used in U.S. Pat. No. 4,115,938, to Harold M Belmuth, et. al., allow the frame structure to grow, but only two-dimensionally, mounted flat against a wall. U.S. Pat. No. 5,588,240, to Kent Zilliox, allows the same type of flexibility, with puzzle-shape pieces, but again only two-dimensionally, mounted flat against a wall. U.S. Pat. No. 4,912,863, granted to Fitzgerald Harvey uses slots to attach the frames in this two-dimensional manner, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,432,152, to Robert H. C. M. Daenen, creates another method with a hanger/holder for connecting various non-related frames, for an eclectic, hodgepodge effect. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,319,419, to Gerald Traill, provides a decorative support to suspend a variety of different frames, again mounted flat against a wall.
The present invention provides a modular photograph frame system with unlimited growth potential, with front and back pieces to sandwich photos between, built on supporting caps which also top the structure for stability, allowing three-dimensional construction, with tremendous flexibility in configuration and size. The system is built on surfaces as opposed to being wall-mounted. Fronts and backs are rectangular, and intersect with the notches perpendicularly with similar notches on the caps or on other frame pieces to connect the pieces as the structure is built. Injection molding provides a recessed indenture in the front and back piece, exactly alike, to place the photo within, and small dimples to gently snap the pieces together, and rounded comers on all right angles. The front pieces are clear plastic, and the back pieces and caps are the same clear plastic, but are also found in colored plastic, wood and metal, for a variety of presentation and decorating options.
Several objects and advantages of the current invention are:
(a) to allow the structure to change from time to time, as the photographs exhibited may also be changed;
(b) to provide a very simple connecting mechanism, simultaneously centering the photograph in the frame without the need for additional tools. One advantage of this object is that it is simple to use, and enjoyable for the user to explore the different possible construction options to exhibit photos;
(c) to allow photos of horizontal or vertical exposure to be placed in the structure simultaneously, without limitation to one or the other;
(d) to provide a picture frame system that is pleasing to the eye, with the interlocking portion of the frame and the supports a part of the overall design and appearance;
(e) to allow photos to be viewed from all sides of a structure as it is built on a surface such as a table-top, or at minimum, two perpendicular sides of a structure.